When persuasion fails, the debtor should be notified that the account is being placed in the hands of an attorney, or a collection agency. But before suit is actually started, it is well to investigate the probability of collecting a judgment. If a man is judgment proof, it is much better to take the necessary steps to secure the return of the goods. This is usually accomplished by requesting the express company to call on the debtor for the package.
Every debtor has his vulnerable point; if that point is reached, the money can be collected. The most successful collector is the one who finds that point in the largest number of cases.
Collections by Attorneys. The handling of collections constitutes an important part of the practice of many attorneys. It would naturally be supposed that attorneys handling collections for their clients would have an efficient system of records, but unfortunately this is not the rule. Except in offices handling a large number of claims the methods are very lax—there is an entire absence of a system that will reveal the exact status of every claim. And yet to install a system that will give just the information desired is very simple, and the operation requires less labor than to handle the claims in a haphazard way.
Fig. 32. Attorney's Collection Card
When a claim is received by an attorney, it should be given a number, and registered in numerical order. The register should be a book—either loose-leaf or bound—with headings for the date received, names of debtor and creditor, amount of claim, amount collected, fees, amount remitted, and date remitted or returned, as shown in Fig. 31. This is not intended as a complete history of the claim, but merely as a permanent record.
The papers in each claim should be placed in a folder. The old method was to use a manila jacket or document envelope, to be filed in a document file. The objectionable feature of this method is that the papers must be unfolded for reference. A better plan is to use a correspondence folder, such as is used in the vertical file, in which the papers can be kept flat.
Whatever style of folder is used, all papers should be fastened—either pasted, or by means of a paper fastener. On the outside of the folder should be written the names of debtor and creditor, and the number of the claim. The balance of the space on the folder can be used for recording special information about the claim from time to time. These claim folders should be filed numerically, according to claim numbers.
